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Trying to make sense out of getting around

Rob Silva, Sonoma County’s roads department operations manager, sent this photo of the chip seal crew on Lichau Road and an update on this week’s county projects. Expect night paving on Old Redwood Highway between Cotati and Petaluma, and longer than normal delays Thursday and Friday on Porter Creek Road. On Old Redwood Highway in the Penngrove area, the paving contractor will begin night time paving Tuesday, Sept. 10. working 7 p.m.-7 a.m. this week and next. It’s a big project –… Read More »

For Highway 101 drivers, relief is almost here. Caltrans is continuing to do finishing work on the highway between Santa Rosa Avenue and Rohnert Park Expressway, and Caltrans spokesman Adam Priest says the third lane is expected to be open by the end of this month or early September. But he adds a caveat: “With that, these projects require scheduling of stripers, etc., during a very busy time for construction.” So it could be later. Once opened, the third lane… Read More »

I’ve heard people joke that a green light means go, a yellow light means go faster and a red light means stop. But I don’t think it’s a joke any longer: More people seem to be trying to beat red lights and they’re stepping on the gas when the light turns yellow. Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Rich Celli says he hasn’t seen that as a general trend, although he does at times have officers stake out specific intersections where it’s… Read More »

SMART rail work will close East Cotati Avenue in Cotati on Friday through Sunday at the train tracks. It’s part of the rail district upgrading the tracks through Sonoma County. Crews are going through the county tearing out the old crossings and putting in new track. To detour around the closure, take Southwest Boulevard to the north or East Railroad Avenue to the south. —————- Follow the Road Warrior on Twitter via @PDRoadWarrior

Caltrans plans road work this week on Highways 29, 101 and 128, and drivers can expect some traffic delays. –Highway 29, from Highway 128 in Calistoga to two-tenths of a mile north of Silverado Trail, for grinding out bad sections of road and replacing with fresh pavement. Work hours will be 9 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday until 6 a.m. the next morning. One-way traffic controls will be in effect. Then Caltrans will do more work 7 p.m. July 30 to… Read More »

Here are answers to some of the questions readers posed last week for Caltrans: –When will the section of freeway in Cotati change from a 55-MPH zone to a regular 65 zone? Anthony Caltrans officials said once crews finish putting the final paving and striping on Highway 101 there, they’ll boost the speed limit to 65. –Why are you stuffing everybody into two lanes at 3pm creating a traffic slowdown when in Marin it’s 4:30 and things run pretty good?… Read More »

Caltrans this week is holding a briefing for the media about the Highway 101 widening in Rohnert Park and Cotati and the East Washington Street interchange project in Petaluma. The Road Warrior will be there, so if you have questions about those projects, send them to me by leaving a comment below. I’ll try to get as many as possible answered.

At stoplights or stop signs, you see some drivers leaving huge gaps between them and the car in front. Others are almost sitting on the car’s bumper. What’s going on? It’s not an issue addressed in the state Vehicle Code, Petaluma Police Sgt. Ken Savano notes. Some drivers like to creep up close to the car in front so as to provide as much room as possible for cars behind them, he says. Others leave plenty of room to be… Read More »

Here’s a question from a reader: What is the schedule for repaving of Old Redwood Highway between Petaluma and Cotati? This is a heavily traveled road and has not been improved for a century. It’s not a coincidence it is called “Old.” What is the county supervisors’ solution to the poor repaving done a couple of years ago on Occidental, West Sierra, and Crane Canyon roads? The county used a repaving technique (chip seal) that rendered these roads worse than… Read More »

Sonoma County’s anti-DUI campaign will continue after the state awarded a $300,000 grant for the Avoid the 13 task force. The task force, which includes all police agencies in the county and is coordinated by Petaluma police, had a three-year grant of $659,000 that ended Sept. 30. The money pays for various anti-DUI operations, such as checkpoints and saturation patrols, and covers the overtime of officers participating in the operations. Petaluma Sgt. Ken Savano, who is in his fourth year… Read More »

About This Blog

Ever wonder what Caltrans is up to? Want a heads up on road work that may affect you? Or what the traffic laws are? Road Warrior is here to help. We’ll keep you updated on road work across the North Coast, changes in traffic laws and anything else that will help make driving here easier. Send us your questions, and we’ll find the answers to help all Road Warriors. Email your questions or your insights to Attn: Road Warrior at eric.wittmershaus@pressdemocrat.com.